19-02-2019, 11:52 PM
Linda, it's so hard to know how it might be interpreted.
For one, there is the question of scale. Let's pretend for a moment that there are geographical details in the VMS...
How big or how small are these details in relation to real structures, and how big or small are they in relation to each other?
And then there's the different mindset that people in the Middle Ages had about "reality". The line between myth and science was very thin (and sometimes nonexistent).
And are they meant to be read as a literal geographical map? Or as a symbolic map? Or as a mythical map?
I have seen a "map" in a British manuscript that was actually a "map" of classical scholars. Another was a map of the seven hills of Greece (which have a lot of mythical significance related to the gods, but also actually exist in real life).
For one, there is the question of scale. Let's pretend for a moment that there are geographical details in the VMS...
How big or how small are these details in relation to real structures, and how big or small are they in relation to each other?
And then there's the different mindset that people in the Middle Ages had about "reality". The line between myth and science was very thin (and sometimes nonexistent).
And are they meant to be read as a literal geographical map? Or as a symbolic map? Or as a mythical map?
I have seen a "map" in a British manuscript that was actually a "map" of classical scholars. Another was a map of the seven hills of Greece (which have a lot of mythical significance related to the gods, but also actually exist in real life).